


Through Sickness and Health

by RealityXIllusion



Category: The Greatest Showman (2017)
Genre: Angst, Bromance, Charity is a BAMF, Circus as family, Completed, Crying, F/M, Family Fluff, Fevers, Gen, Helen and Caroline miss their daddy, Hints of abuse, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Mentions (VERY BRIEFLY) of physical and mental abuse, Mentions Of Previous Characters Deaths, Mucus, Nightmares, Nosebleeds, Not by his father, Other, P.T Barnum Centric, P.T Barnum doesn't realized he is loved, P.T Barnum feels, P.T Barnum had a rough childhood, P.T Barnum is a stubborn mule, P.T Barnum is sick, Phillip is a adorable puppy, Scared Anne, Scared Charity, She loves Phineas, Sickfic, Through sickness and health, W.D and Phillip are worried, Worried Anne, Worried Charity, Worried Phillip, Worried W.D, abused P.T Barnum, body aches, bronchitis, dellusions, more tags to be added later
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2019-03-10 12:10:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13501418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RealityXIllusion/pseuds/RealityXIllusion
Summary: No one noticed.P.T Barnum did but he brushed it off and by doing so he nearly signed his death warrant. After all, Bronchitis in the 1800's is not something to play around with.(Or a P.T Barnum centric one-shot with a sick Barnum and worried/caring Phillip, Anne and W.D as well as Charity and everyone else from afar.)





	Through Sickness and Health

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own nor shall I ever own The Greatest Showman or it's Cast and Crew.

It was Saturday night, the last performance of the week since Sundays were the agreed day off for everyone. Everyone was oddly energetic tonight and it was quickly spreading, all of them were seated together before curtain call and laughing together as jokes were told and people began dancing.

P.T Barmun was a man of many talents,he could sing, and dance and was quite good at fixing clothes or making a few with leftover fabrics (A skill he picked up from his late father). His stubborness was one as well as his ability to talk his way out of any situation. It was these two atributes of his that caused everyone to worry in the first place. They were all so absorbed in their talk about the show tonight that they didn’t notice something was wrong until much later when the show had ended.

It all started with the aches.

Phineas still showed up to most of the performances and he was still the ring master for a lot of them too. Any he missed, Phillip took over. Tonight was one of the days where Phillip was going out with the others to perform but Phineas decided to stay and watch the show instead of heading home for the night. He knew Charity took the girls to go visit her parents, which annoyed him but he couldn’t refuse her wishes and he didn’t really want to go back to the house alone.

He didn’t like being alone.

Frowning to himself Phineas shook his head to dispell those thoughts. He was so lost in his own thought’s that he wasn’t even aware of Lettie standing next to him, watching him.

“Barnum?”

Startled Phineas’s head snapped to the side, causing his vision to fade out briefly before returning, he then forced a at ease smile on his face as he greeted Lettie, “Afternoon Lettie, shouldn’t you be heading out?”

Lettie didn’t look the least bit amused as she looked Phineas up and down, “What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think something’s wrong?” Phineas raised a brow, “Everything’s fine Lettie.”

“They why were you standing there for almost five minutes, staring at nothing.” Lettie replied putting her hands on her hips.

Phineas grinned charmingly spreading his hands out in front of him, “Ah, just lost in thought. Nothing to worry about.” Phineas clapped his hands together and winked at Lettie, “You better hurry on out. I’m going to go find a seat.”

“You’re staying?” Lettie said sounding surprised but also happy.

“Yes. Charity and the girls are out tonight, they should return sometime Monday evening..”

Before Lettie could say anything else, Phineas turned and walked off towards the piece of curtain separating the backstage from the stands.

Phineas never regretted staying the night at his circus as much as he did in that very moment. The bright lights and loud noises from both the crowd and performers caused Phineas’s head to hurt more then it did earlier. Any aches he was able to push off to the side suddenly seemed to come back all at once and Phineas found he couldn’t even take a step forward with how badly he was shaking.

Realizing that it would be best if he simply headed home for the night, Phineas willed himself to turn and duck under the curtin to head back to the performers room. There was a exit in the back that no one else would be at this very moment which is exactly what Phineas needed to sneak out of large tent without anyone taking notice.

Only he didn’t look behind him where two sets of curtains were open revealing everyone performing and allowing them to see into the back should they look.

Which Phillip did.

Because of that Phineas didn’t know that a confused Phillip had seen him sneaking out of the tent. Phineas was only focused and hailing a carriage and getting himself home. Which was easier said than done. It took longer than he anticipated for him to walk down to the street and get a carriage to put to a stop.

His body was aching so badly it made him want to collapse onto his bed and curl up into a tiny ball but he couldn’t do that until he made it home and in order to make it home he needed climb up into the carriage.

“Sir? Are you alright?”

Phineas looked up from his feet to see the driver had climbed off the carriage and was standing next to him holding him up. Phineas didn’t even realize he had started to lean to the side or that the driver had even moved.

“Sir?”

“I’m quite alright.” Phineas said flashing one of his famous grins at the man, “Sorry about that. Probably had a few to many drinks.” Phineas didn’t think the man needed to know that he hadn’t drunk anything, alcohol or not, since early that morning.

The man seemed understanding as he helped Phineas climb into the backseat of the carriage and Phineas quickly muttered his address before leaning his head against the cool glass window which felt fantastic against his skin.

He must’ve fallen asleep at some point without realizing it because next thing Phineas knew was that they had stopped outside of his house and the carriage driver at the door open and was trying to wake him up.

Phineas opened his mouth to thank the man and get out his money but the moment he tried to talk he bent forwards coughing so harshly that it shook his entire frame.

“Sir!”

Phineas waved the man off once the coughing subsided and he felt lightheaded afterwards, Phineas slowly shifted towards the end of the seat and pushed himself up out of the carriage. He needed the drivers help to get down without falling on his face.

“Your money.” Phineas said grabbing a random amount out of his pocket and giving it to the man, hopping it was the right amount.

“Ah, t-thank you Sir...is there someone else here to help you?” The man asked not even looking at the money as he put it in his pockets.

Phineas forced himself to shrug off the mans helping hands and stand up straight to look the man in the eyes, “I’m alright. I told you, just had a bit to much to drink.”

“B-”

Phineas smiled and walked around the man briskly. Heading up the steps to his front door he called over his shoulder, “Have a nice night!”

The moment he was inside he pushed the door to close it but didn’t really check as he headed towards the stairs. He was exhausted, in pain and dizzy, he wanted to go to his room and just sleep the night away.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“You said he was leaving just as the show began?” W.D asked, his face scrunching up in confusion.

Phillip nodding said, as the carriage they were in started bouncing on the dirt road, “Yes. I talked to Lettie and she said that Barnum was acting strange.”

“Maybe he changed his mind and wanted to be home with Charity and his girls?” Anne suggested, wrapping her shawl tighter around herself since none of them had time to get changed since Phillip wanted to check on Barnum right away and W.D and herself offered to come.

Phillip didn’t respond, instead he stayed silent the entire way towards Barnum’s house. Once they arrived they all rushed out of the carriage and Phillip paid the driver but once the carriage left, they were all wary about approaching the house which seemed...dark as they looked at it.

“Let’s...Let’s head in.” Phillip said mostly to himself as he lead the way towards the front door.

The bad feeling they all had worsened the closer they got to the house. Especially when W.D noticed that the door wasn’t shut fully.

“P.T!” Phillip yelled pushing open the door all the way and looking around the parlor before moving towards the stairs.

“Mrs. Barnum!” Anne called out, “Are you here?!”

“Helen!” W.D called out for Barnum’s daughters as they all began walking up the stairs once they made sure the door was firmly shut, “Caroline!”

“Where are they?” Phillip muttered.

It didn’t look good that neither of them or the girls were answering after they arrived and found the door unlocked.

“Oh my god.” Anne muttered, his eyes widening. The moment W.D, Phillip and herself entered Barnum’s house they called out for him or for Charity or even the girls but no one responded. It was only after they walked farther into the house and up the stairs Anne happened to walk off to the side and she saw him.

Barnum was laying on his side in the middle of the hallway with his eyes closed and his one arm laying over his chest and the other against his side.

“Anne?” Phillip questioned turning towards her, “Anne what’s wrong?”

“Barnum!” Anne cried out rushing down the hallway with her brother and Phillip following closely behind.

“P.T?” Phillip said dropping to his knees the moment he got close enough, “P.T open your eyes.”

W.D went to his knees next to Phillip and held his hand over Barnum’s mouth, “It seems like he’s having issues breathing…” W. D paused and pressed his hand against Barnum’s forehead to confirm what he already thought, “He has a fever.”

“He’s sick?” Anne said confused.

“He’s not going to get any better if we leave him on the floor,” Phillip said shifting to the side so that he was kneeling directly against Barnum’s front as he reached down and pulled Barnum’s arm up around his shoulder’s, “W.D mind getting his other side?”

W.D nodded and helped Phillip lift Barnum up just enough for W.D to grab his other arm and throw it over his shoulder’s.

“On three.” Phillip said, looking down at Barnum’s ashy skin tone, “One...two...three!”

Together both Phillip and W.D surged to their feet. They were startled by how light Barnum felt. Not light as in skinny but lighter then they thought he would be.

“I think he’s waking up!” Anne whispered moving closer to stand in front of Barnum, “Mr. Barnum?”

They watched with baited breath as Barnum’s eyes flickered open, only his gaze couldn’t seem to focus on anything.

“P.T” Phillip called shaking the man slightly. “Come on open your eyes back up.”

Reluctantly Barnum’s eyes opened once more and he squinted slightly as his gaze finally landed on Anne. “...Anne?”

None of them wanted to mention how raspy Barnum’s voice sounded as he slurred Anne’s name.

“Wh’re ‘re we?”

W.D frowned, “We are at your house. Don’t you recognize it?”

“Hmm.” Barnum blink staring around him with owlishly large eyes, “But….’tis nice ‘ere.”

“Yeah it is nice.” Anne agreed not really understanding where Barnum was going with the conversation.

“Can't be mine. To nice. M’bad per’on can't have nice th’gs…” Barnum’s lips murmured as his head lolled to the side once he finished speaking.

“What?” Phillip reached up and forced Barnum’s head to turn and look him in the eyes, “You’ve made mistakes before yes, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person P.T.”

Barnum just blinked at him, not really registering what Phillip was saying to him.

Groaning Phillip rolled his eyes, “Nevermind. Let’s just get you to bed okay?”

Barnum hummed as he closed his eyes.

“Wait, you can’t go asleep yet!” Phillip said frantically but it was to late. Barnum’s body went limp and W.D and Phillip quickly had to adjust their grip so not to drop him.

Phillip cursed before looking at Anne, “Can you go ahead and open the bedroom door and pull the blankets back?”

Anne looked at the two doors on one side of the hall and two more on the other side, “How am I supposed to know which room is his?”

“Uhh…” Phillip looked down at the floor and remembered the way Barnum was laying, “I think it’s one of the rooms to the left.”

“We haven’t run into his family yet.” W.D pointed out to Phillip as Anne walked down the hall to the first door.

“I know, I don’t know where they’re at but we can figure that out later.” Phillip whispered, “Right now we need to get him in bed and get a doctor here soon. I don’t like how warm he is.”

“Found it!” Anne called from down the hall where she was walking out of the second doorway.

Slowly W.D and Phillip made their way down the hall towards Anne and what was supposedly his bedroom. They had to pause multiple times as Barnum groaned sometimes in discomfort and others in pain. Eventually they managed to make their way into the bedroom and Anne had shoved the blankets down to the bottom of the bed so they could quickly lay Barnum down.

Just before they could lay him down Anne stopped them, “Wait!”

W.D looked over his shoulder at his sister, “What’s wrong?”

“You guys need to change him he’s drenched in sweat if you keep him in that it’ll only make him sicker!”

Phillip definitely didn’t have to undress his older co-owner of the circus on his agenda for that night and from the look on his face W.D seemed just as against it as Phillip was but they both knew it was necessary.

“Alright.” Phillip sighed setting Barnum down on the bed, “Anne while we try to change him, would you mind trying to find a cool cloth we can use to try to bring down his fever and maybe see if there are any clues where Charity or the girls are?”

“Got it,” Anne said rushing out of the room in a hurry.

“She’s never really been around sick people before so she probably feels awkward.” W.D murmured as he set about loosening Barnum’s tie.

“Neither have I,” Phillip said nervously causing W.D to look at him.

“You seem like you do.”

“I’m literally going off of what I’ve seen P.T do when Helen had a cold and I was over talking to him.” Phillip said glancing at the doorway to make sure Anne wasn’t listening in, “This doesn’t seem like a cold.”

“He seems really sick.” W.D said quietly, “I’ve never seen anyone this sick before, the most I dealt with was Anne when she was younger with allergies.”

“I’ll run and get a doctor as soon as we get him settled in,” Phillip said determinedly.

Together the both of them set about stripping Barnum of his shirt, a process that was far weirder then it had to be because neither of them were really comfortable with it. His white shirt was literally drenched in sweat and smelled as they peeled it off of him, they didn’t know how Anne noticed before either of them when they were the ones carrying him into the room.

“Oh my god.” W.D muttered, freezing in place.

“What?” Phillip questioned seeing the semi horrified look on W.D’s face he followed the other man’s gaze towards Barnum’s torso and was shocked by what he saw.

Scars.

Nothing too extreme, just some small thin scars splattered randomly across Barnum’s torso, with a few circular marks which looked like burns and just one big on going from the middle of his side inching over his hip.

It wasn’t that they were gruesome per say but the thought of Barnum having these scars made Phillip and W.D feel sick the longer they looked at them.

That and they couldn’t help but wonder how he got them.

“I’ll…” W.D cleared his throat and looked away, “I’ll find him a clean shirt, take care of his shoes will you?”

Phillip nodded absentmindedly.

W.D stood up and moved towards the first dresser draw he was. The moment he opened it his yelped and quickly slammed it shut.

“W.D?” Phillip called out, finally taking his eyes away from Barnum.

“Uh, wrong draw.” W.D said moving to the opposite end of the dresser and opening the top draw which thankfully had what must’ve been Barnum’s shirts in it. He grabbed the largest size he saw and made his way back towards the bed where Phillip had pulled off Barnum’s socks and shoes.

Phillip waited until W.D sat down next to Barnum on the bed before he stood and muttered something about getting a doctor as he quickly let the room. W.D suspected he finally had enough of seeing the energetic Barnum so listless.

Sighing to himself W.D set about pulling Barnum's arms through the clean button up and just as he was about to start buttoning his shirt, W.D glanced up and realized Barnum’s eyes were open and staring at him.

“Hey!” W.D jerked back startled, and embarrassed by the situation, “You needed a clean shirt...so...yeah.”

Barnum didn’t say anything but looked away and towards the doorway where W.D noticed Anne was standing. Hopefully, she didn’t see anything about the scars on Barnum.

Smiling Anne walked into the room and sat on the other side of Barnum on the bed, “Hey, how’re you feeling?

“...Hot…” Barnum frowned and closed his eyes, “H’rts to breathe…”

“What?” Anne said panicked as she turned to look at her brother who looked just was worried.

“Don’t worry,” W.D said, “Phillip went to go get a doctor.”

“...shouldn’t be ‘ere.” Barnum muttered, “Gonna get sick.”

“We’ll be fine Mr. Barnum,” Anne said taking the wet cloth she brought with her and placing it on Barnum’s brow once W.D helped him lay down.

“Ch’rity?” Barnum yawned, shivering slightly.

“She...she’s not here.” Anne said hesitantly, “But she’ll come when I find her and tell her you’re ill!”

Barnum shook his head, “At her pa’ents...can't risk kids gettin’ sick. Don’t tell her, not yet.”

“But-” Anne began but stopped at the pleading look Barnum sent her. “O-Okay.”

Barnum smiled though it looked like he was in pain as he fell back asleep.

“I’ll stay here with him if you want to go check for Phillip and the doctor.” Anne said softly, “It’s been almost an hour they should be on their way here by now.”

W.D nodded and got up off the bed, he barely made it to the door before Anne flung herself at him in a tight hug as she asked,

“He’ll be okay, right?”

W.D hesitated before answering, “We need to find out how sick he is but he has all of us to help him get better.”

Anne nodded and after a few minutes she let go of W.D and walked back over towards Barnum. She sat on the side of the bed next to him and pushed his sweaty hair away from his clammy skin.

Sighing to himself, W.D walked out of the room and down the hall. Just as he was about to head downstairs the front door opened and Phillip walked in with an older gentleman who was carrying a first aid bag.

“I take it Sir Barnum’s upstairs then?” The man asked hurrying towards the stairs.

“Y-Yeah,” W.D said as the man flew past him and heading straight towards Barnum’s room which Phillip and W.D were confused as to how the Doctor had known since the door was shut.

He must’ve sense their confusion because he hastily said, “I treated young Helen when she had the cold and when Sir Barnum was growing up I looked over him when he was ill as well. He had a habit of ignoring any sickness until he couldn’t any longer. I was the one who treated his mother and broke the news to him that the illness had killed her and I did the same thing when sickness had taken his father from him.” The Doctor shook his head mournfully. “Not quite sure what happened to him. I know he’d become homeless for quite some time but I never saw him up until Helen was sick and he came and requested I look at her.”

“Homeless?” Phillip repeated, shocked.

They’d all known Barnum had an unusual upbringing but he never hinted he was homeless and from those scars, Phillip and W.D assumed abused as well.

The Doctor ignored the both of them and Anne as the moment he entered the room he flew to Barnum’s side and immediately opened his medical bag, taking out various equipment and looking Barnum over.

After a few tense minutes had passed, almost half an hour, the Doctor quickly pulled vials out of his bag along with a needle.

“What’re you doing?” Phillip asked protectively taking a step towards Barnum.

The Doctor’s voice was grave as he answered, “If he doesn’t receive medical treatment soon his condition will worsen to the point where he will not get better.”

“What?” Anne gasped, her eyes immediately tearing up at the Doctor’s words as her brother and Phillip stared at the man horrified.

“His heartbeat is sluggish at best, he can barely breathe correctly, a fever far too high to be considered safe and from the looks of his skin and cracked lips, I’d say he hasn’t had enough fluids as of late. He’ll need to eat something soon as well.”

“A-Are you telling me if he doesn’t get better soon he could die?” Phillip demanded.

“Yes.” The Doctor refused to answer anymore of their questions as he set about pulling out two vials of medicine and filling two different needles with different amounts which he then jabbed into Barnum’s arms. “I’m leaving these vials here, make sure he get one shot per vial everyday for the next three days. If you run out or his condition seems to worsen come get me immediately. You three must be very careful not to get sick yourselves. The survival rate of having Bronchitis is very low.”

W.D’s eyes widened is shock, “Bronchitis? He has Bronchitis?!”

“From the symptoms I could see and from what Mr. Carlyle told me, yes he does. If he’s careful he may just make it through this. I understand he has a wife and kids...but it’s best if they were not here, the kids especially.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Anne asked.

Seeing the Doctor’s confused look on his face, Phillip added, “Besides the medication, water, and food. What else can we do for him?”

“Well...Make sure he gets plenty of rest, and that he is constantly getting a change of clothes as though not to stay in the infected ones. In fact, burn those so no one else gets sick. Fresh air should help. Considering how high his fever his keep changing that cloth with cold water to try and help bring it down, and with a high fever comes delusions keep that in mind in case he says random things or even doesn’t recognize any of you.”

The three of them stayed silent but nodded to the Doctor’s words as the seriousness of the situation hit them all at once.

The Doctor smiled sadly, “He’s lucky to have you three here for him. Perhaps knowing that could help him gather the strength to fight to survive.”

“We’ll be here for him, as will all the others.” Phillip said with confidence. Even if the other’s couldn’t be here in person he knew they’d send things to help Barnum get well and ask for updates on his condition as often as possible.

Once the Doctor left and the three of them were left alone to their own thoughts W.D broke the silence, “He said he had Bronchitis. Usually, you’d have to have been sick with the flu or a cold beforehand.”

Phillip snorted, “P.T’s nothing if not stubborn, he probably ignored it and kept going about his life.”

“Well, that stubbornness could very well be the death of him!” Anne snapped.

“No.” Phillip said leaving no room for argument, “That stubbornness of his is what’s going to keep him going. Help him keep fighting.”

Anne sniffed and looked down at the floor, she let her head drop onto W.D’s shoulder as he came over and pulled her into a hug. Phillip came over as well and held onto her hand reassuringly.

“I...I’m going to head back to the tent. Everyone said they’d wait there for news on Barnum…” Anne finally said as she composed herself.

“Need me to come?” W.D asked but Anne immediately shook her head.

“No! Barnum needs you here, you too Phillip.”

The boys watched in silence as Anne bent over and kissed Barnum on the forehead before leaving the room altogether. Phillip walked over to the pile of Barnum’s dirty laundry they’d taken off of him earlier and shoved it into the far corner of the room before turning towards W.D.

“We’ll put anything we’ll have to burn over here and take it outside when it is daylight. When he’s better we’ll need to do the sheets and blankets as well. Maybe even the pillows.” Phillip said, not missing the way W.D shot him a look when he said ‘when’ and not ‘if’. “I’ll take first watch, the other on this side of the hall should be a guest room.

W.D nodded and clapped Phillip on the shoulder, “If anything happens. Anything. Come to get me alright?”

“Alright.”

As W.D left the room, Phillip as on the other side of the bed, leaning against the headboard as he settled in for a long night.

He didn’t know how right he was.

A few hours later with Phillip anxiously watching Barnum for any signs of waking up, he was startled badly when Barnum suddenly arched his back off the bed screaming bloody murder. Not even a few seconds late W.D came flying into the room and Barnum’s eyes opened.

The only problem was he was still screaming.

“P.T...P.T!” Phillip called out before finally screaming to be heard over Barnum, “Damnit. BARNUM!”

Barnum’s jaw snapped shut as he turned to stare at Phillip with wide, terrified eyes which struck him at his very core. Phillip never, NEVER, wanted to see Barnum look at him that way again.

“P.T…” Phillip murmured softly, reaching out towards his friend only to jerk his arm back when Barnum flinched and his eyes filled with tears.

W.D soundlessly moved forwards and slowly placed his fingers against Barnum’s wrist. Barnum flinched and turned to stare at W.D but didn’t more away as W.D kept his fingers on him. Eventually those fingers turned into his hand as W.D flattened his palm on Barnum’s arm and slowly lowered his hand to hold a shaking Barnum’s hand tightly in his own. On Barnum’s other side, Phillip slowly copied W.D’s movements.

Barnum was shaking badly and his eyes were glazed over as he looked back and forth between the two of them.

Voice cracking from lack of use, Barnum whimpered, “D-Don’t let them get me...please.”

“Let who?” Phillip asked keeping his voice at a low whisper and feeling his own eyes water with how young Barnum suddenly sounded.

“E-Everyone. T-They’re mad I-I keep s-stealing.” Barnum blinked, his unfocused gaze shifting to stare at the ceiling, “B-But I-I have t-too...Dad’s n-not getting better. I-I need to get medicine for h-him and f-food….”

W.D and Phillip tightened their grips on Barnum’s hands. Each of them whispering reassurances to the man as he kept telling them how everyone hated him and wanted him to die, how sometimes he felt like giving up and wanting to die, how he lost his father, how he lost his mother, how people kept hurting him.

The most difficult thing for them was when Barnum cried out for his wife, begging her not to leave him alone, how he hated being alone, how he needed her, he needed to see her, to hold her.

They had to reassure him she loved him and would never leave him, but they had to tell them she wasn’t there because he told them not to let her come.

When he asked why and they said because he was really sick, Barnum giggled and told them if he died nothing would change.

That entire process would repeat itself into late morning as everytime Barnum fell asleep he woke up screaming an hour or two later saying the same things and asking the same questions. A few times he’d forgotten what he was talking about halfway though a conversation or he’d forget who they were and get scared of them until they reassured him they were his friends.

Late the next morning, W.D and Phillip woke up to an unconscious Barnum having a nosebleed. They panicked seeing the blood and hoped it was due to how many times Barnum had blown his nose throughout the night. W.D ran off to get a bucket of water with ice so they could continuously change the cloth on Barnum’s head while Phillip prepared the meds and hesitantly plunged the needles into Barnum’s arm.

They weren’t sure how to get Barnum to drink if he was still asleep but Phillip suggested wetting his lips so if Barnum licked them he could lick the water off. It worked the first few times but then Barnum stopped responding, forcing Phillip and W.D to both tries and wake him up to take at least a few sips of water from the glass cup Phillip ran and grabbed.

Barnum was entirely out of it when they finally managed to wake him up but thankfully they managed to convince him to drip at least half the glass in a span of an hour and a half. Before they could even mention food Barnum was back asleep.

That entire process from since the Doctor left to getting Barnum to drink some water was repeated until late Thursday evening, a full five days later. On Monday they were forced to tell Charity what was really going on as she tried to return home with her kids only for Anne and Lettie to intercept her just as she was walking out to the carriage to take them home and tell her how it Barnum was.

It took everyone from the circus to convince Charity to stay at her parents house with the kids for a little while longer, but now that it’s been five days since the Doctor diagnosed Barnum she was getting restless and needed to see her husband. Her parents agreed to watch over the kids and Charity arrived back home with get well drawings from the girls late Thursday night. She didn’t tell anyone other than her parents and her kids that she was returning home.

Charity Barnum raced up the stairs towards their bedroom and flung the door open and she rushed inside. W.D and Phillip who she knew had been by her husbands’ side since day one were both sitting on chairs from the livingroom next to the bed. W.D had been in the middle of wringing out a new clod cloth to put on Barnum’s head when Charity walked into the room.

Phillip’s eyes widened and he rushed towards her, attempting to stop her before she got any closer. “What are you doing here?!”

Charity frowned and her eyes narrowed, “I have stayed away from my husband as he’s been sick for five days now. Enough is enough! I need to be here by his side, not hiding away at my parents house when Phineas needs me!” Charity none to gently pushed Phillip out of her way as she stalked towards the bed,ignoring both the boys protests she leaned over and kissed both of Barnum’s flushed cheeks and called out to him.

“Phinn? Sweetheart I need you to wake up now alright?” Charity said softly, stroking Barnum’s hair back and placing another kiss on his forehead.

Phillip looked over at W.D and gave him a look which W.D returned.

Neither one of them wanted to be the one to tell Charity to leave or that Barnum hadn’t been lucid any of the times he’s managed to wake up ever since the first night of his sickness. But to both of their utter shock and amazement, Barnum groaned and tilted his head into Charity’s hand.

“That’s it, sweetie, you’re doing a good job.” Charity cooed, “Come back to me Phinn.”

“....” Barnum’s eyes moved rapidly beneath his eyelids before slowly blinking open and squinting at her, “...Ch’rity?”

“Hey, Phinn.” Charity laughed, choking back a sob.

“Can't be here...m’sick.” Barnum slurred, his voice laced with exhaustion.

Charity shook her head, “I’m not going anywhere Phinn.” Charity’s eyes locked on the glass full of iced water on the stand next to Barnum’s side of the bed. “I’m going to sit you up alright? I want you to try sucking on an ice cube for me, alright?”

Barnum hummed, either in approval or protest, Charity couldn’t tell but she took it as a yes and slowly shifted around so she was sitting up against the headboard with her husband leaning back on her to keep himself upright. Charity was well aware of W.D and Phillip watching her but she ignored them in favor of concentrating on her husband. She picked a ice cube out of the glass cut and waited for Barnum to open his mouth before sliding it in, she had to lift his head with her hands so he wouldn’t accidentally try swallowing the ice cube and choaking on it. It took a while for him to finish the first ice cube but then Charity got him to suck on three more before his exhaustion won over.

Just before he could fall back asleep, Charity whispered in his ear, “Rest now and I’ll be here when you awaken my love.”

As Barnum went back to sleep, Charity looked up at the other two who were still staring at her in shock and awe.

“I guess you were the medicine P.T needed,” Phillip said breaking the silence and causing W.D to snort while Charity smiled at him.

It took a lot of coaxing from Charity but over the next two days, she managed to get Barnum to drink more than Phillip and W.D could get him to drink in five. On Saturday morning she even convinced him to stay awake long enough for her to get him to have a few spoonfuls of soup Lettie had dropped off yesterday. On Wednesday the received more medicine from the Doctor and would need to get more in a few days but for now, they had everything they needed.

Plus, since Charity started sleeping in the bed with Barnum, despite Phillip, W.D and the Doctor’s protests, Barnum stopped waking up every few hours screaming and was finally able to get a good nights rest.

Because he was resting easier, Barnum was able to stay awake for longer periods of time. Giving everyone more time to get water and food into him.

He threw up after his first solid meal so they all agreed to stick with different soups and bread until he could handle solids again.

By day 11 Barnum’s fever broke in the middle of the night and he was tired but lucid in the morning of day 12.

He was weak and definitely skinner than a man his age should be, he was still in need of drinking more water and rest but they were over the worst of it was Barnum’s issues with breathing lessened throughout the day and his nose stopped leaking.

His spit wasn’t filled with green or yellow mucus anymore either.

By day 14, a full two weeks later, the Doctor came and looked Barnum over and told them all that he was over the worst of it and now simply need to rest and regain his strength.

That was the first time since she learned he was sick that Charity flung her arms around her husband and cried. With the all clear that Barnum wasn’t contagious and could have visitors, W.D and Phillip took the pile of clothes, pillows, sheets and blankets that Barnum had used and brought them out back where they burned them all with the help of everyone from the circus who had come rushing over when they heard the news.

By day 17 when Barnum was well enough to have a small solid meal and walk from the room to the living room, though it did tire him out the first time to the point that he collapsed and scared Tom and W.D who where downstairs at the time, Charity said that tomorrow she’d bring the girls home.

By day 18 since getting sick, Barnum was sitting outside on the front steps of his home with the rest of the circus surrounding him, he was better but still prone to bouts of coughing, exhaustion and brief lightheadedness which the Doctor explained should begin within the next week or two. The moment a carriage came flying down the road, Barnum leap tp his feet and as the carriage skidded to a stop both Helen and Caroline came rushing towards him and both slammed into him with enough force to knock him down.

While the others, all called out worried for him, Barnum bust out laughing as he held onto his girls and Charity walked over and joined them on the ground.

He was happy, surrounded by the best family he could ask for, his three favorite girls and the entire circus. Goes to show when you have something to live for, you fight for it.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm exhausted writing this and I currently have bronchitis which led to me writing P.T Barnum having it. Sorry for anything seeming out of place with history, but I hope you enjoyed my story!
> 
> P.s Bronchitis hurts and it sucks. :(


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